May hopes new look Gladiators can roar

PLYMOUTH Gladiators boss Garry May is hopeful that a different approach to team building in 2024 will bring success to the Coliseum.

- STUART JAMES

The city speedway team finished bottom of the Championship last season, despite having a strong-looking team on paper with three big heat leaders in Kyle Howarth, Richie Worrall, and Ben Barker.

Only Barker will be returning to the club in 2024, while May has also confirmed that six other new faces will be representing the club next season, as the new rules bite and teams are forced to make changes due to a lower points average.

At the sport's recent AGM in Tenerife, it was agreed to drop the team average to 38 points from 40 in an attempt to place more emphasis on giving young British riders the opportunity to race. The Plymouth team in 2024 will see two heat leaders in Barker and Nico Covatti, while Alfie Bowtell and Kyle Newman are both returning to the Coliseum having ridden or the club before.

The promising young Thompson Twins, Dan, and Joe, make up the rest of the team, along with young Australian Jacob Hook, who rode for Edinburgh and Berwick in 2023.

"We were going to go a different way and we were going to include a two-point rider, but we couldn't get a certain rider to come in, so that's why we have gone strong from one to seven," May said.

"Reserves can win you meetings and the way the league is this year, with reduced points and a weakened league, I think we have two good reserves that can score us points.